Important figures in Willie Nelson's career

April 23, 2013 |by Andrew Dansby

Handout

Left Frizzell

16of23

Among the most influential singers in the history of country music, Frizzell’s melisma-heavy phrasing defined honky tonk singing for multiple generations. The audible evidence can be heard in the music of Nelson, George Jones, Randy Travis and many others, but Nelson paid the creative debt forward with “To Lefty From Willie” in 1977. Nelson lovingly sang some Frizzell hits as well as a few deeper tracks. Frizzell never got to hear the record; he died two years earlier following a stroke at age 47.

Handout

Left Frizzell

16of23

Among the most influential singers in the history of country music, Frizzell’s melisma-heavy phrasing defined honky tonk singing for multiple generations. The audible evidence can be heard in the music of Nelson, George Jones, Randy Travis and many others, but Nelson paid the creative debt forward with “To Lefty From Willie” in 1977. Nelson lovingly sang some Frizzell hits as well as a few deeper tracks. Frizzell never got to hear the record; he died two years earlier following a stroke at age 47.